Just A Duel
by Lomihahamech
Summary: When Remus Lupin posses the idea of a Fencing Club for Hogwarts students, Albus discovers both Remus and Severus are qualified to teach, and it turns into a little more then a duel. *Not Slash*
1. The Fencing Club

"It's a muggle sport, Remus. Do you think the students will take to it?" Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor, Remus J. Lupin, flashed Headmaster Albus Dumbledore a wide grin.  
  
"You have muggle clubs; yoga and, thanks to Severus' accidental discovery of the ghost of William Shakespeare, you have a drama club. Students take to those." He ran a hand through his unruly brown hair.  
  
"Yes, but fencing is quite different." Albus said calmly. "It takes concentration, it has rules and it is rather difficult."  
  
"Albus," Remus snickered as he moved to stand in front of the Headmaster, his hands splayed. "You know as well as I do that students, muggle or not, would relish an excuse to hit each other with sticks."  
  
"That is why they have wands." Sighed a silky voice off to the right of the hall. Albus and Remus turned their heads as Severus Snape took form from the shadows and walked towards them.  
  
"Ah, Severus, just the man I wanted to talk to." Albus clapped Severus on the shoulder, and the tall, pale man took up a slow stride next to the white haired man as Remus loped along on the other side.  
  
"You wanted to talk to me?" He scoffed a little. "About what, exactly? Mr. Potter's week of detention?"  
  
"Week of detention!" Remus barked, looking across Albus at Severus. "Hana isn't going to like that."  
  
"Hana can just sit on her broom and-"  
  
"Well, Gentlemen," Albus said as he put his arms across both of their shoulders and stopped walking. "Severus, I will call for you later, when I remember what it is I wanted to talk to you about, and Remus? Find a suitable instructor, and a few interested students, and we will talk on the matter later." Albus again gave both men a clap on the back, sending them both stumbling forward a bit. They looked over at each other and brushed off quickly.  
  
"Instructor for what?" Severus asked as Albus started down the hall.  
  
"A fencing club."  
  
"I could teach it.." Remus said quietly, putting his hands in his tattered old robe pockets.  
  
"As could I," Albus turned to see the two Professors staring hard at one another.  
  
"Well then, you could teach it together." The duo looked at each other, aghast. Albus simply grinned, and continued down the hall into his room.  
  
"Teach it together?" Severus groaned, running a hand into his slicked back black hair.  
  
"No, a duel, tonight on the Pitch, seven thirty." Remus said as he turned to face the Potions Master again.  
  
"For the club?"  
  
"For the club." They turned, robes flaring out behind them, and stormed into opposite ends of the hall.  
  
~~~~~~~~ 


	2. The Living Room

"Huh.... ugh!" Sirius Black's eyes flew open. He slowly sat up and tried to make out the sounds coming from the living room.  
  
"Ur...ugh!" It sounded like a struggle of some sort, but Sirius couldn't hear any contact being made. He quickly and quietly got out of his bed, grabbed his wand, and headed towards the noise.  
  
"Ugnh!" He caught movement and a shadow lunged at the wall. He slowly peered into the room, more curious now then afraid, and raised an eyebrow. Remus Lupin was holding a foil, and lunging at some imaginary foe.  
  
"Um, Moony? Is there a reason for this momentary lapse in sanity?"  
  
"What sanity?" Remus panted, turning to Sirius and wiping his brow on his sleeve.  
  
"Ah, good point. What are you doing?"  
  
"Warming up," He sighed as he sat down in a chair, arms and legs sprawled out.  
  
"Wow, did Dumbledore give it the ok?" Sirius questioned as he sat in a chair next to Remus and put his wand in his pocket.  
  
"Not really.." Sirius met his eyes, confused.  
  
"So.. why are you warming up?"  
  
"To take out Severus Snape."  
  
"Come again?"  
  
"Apparently Severus fences too, and when he rudely barged in on my conversation with Dumbledore, the Headmaster suggested we teach the club together."  
  
"And given the fact that Severus is an ugly git, and you hold grudges, you couldn't do that could you." Sirius chuckled as Remus hit him with a pillow. "So, what's the deal?"  
  
"I sort of challenged him to a duel for the club."  
  
"Idiot."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Seven thirty, on the Pitch." Sirius sighed and looked at the clock as he stood.  
  
"You've got twenty minutes." Remus nodded and closed his eyes. "Well get goin'!" Sirius laughed and gave the back of Remus' chair a shove, sending the werewolf to the floor.  
  
"Sirius?"  
  
"Yes?" He grinned at Remus on the floor from behind the chair.  
  
"Remind me to snub you when I get back."  
  
"But of course." Sirius watched as Remus grabbed his tattered cloak, and left the small house. He snickered and shook his head, flopping down sideways in the armchair and soon falling asleep.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~ 


	3. The Duel Begins

The pitch was dark, and as Remus stepped into the area marked off by the white lines, he squinted across the field, not sure if he'd seen movement or not. He pulled his robes around himself closer, his foil at his side. He kicked the ground lightly with a scuffed up brown boot.  
  
"Professor Lupin? Is that you?" He heard a light voice ask from his left. He turned and was able to make out three figures. He sighed and shook his head. It was Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and Harry Potter. They walked onto the field to join him.  
  
"What are you three doing out of bed? Just because you're seventh years doesn't mean you can wander the school grounds at night." He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling the wind whip his hair around.  
  
"We came to watch you beat up Professor Snape." Ron yawned, and Hermione rolled her eyes.  
  
"Actually, Professor, we over heard Professor Snape talking to a few Slytherins about a Fencing club, and about bringing up interest, so, we decided to show up."  
  
"Of course you over heard it," Snapped a voice from behind one of the stands. "You're always eaves dropping." Ron turned to look back at Remus and rolled his eyes as Severus Snape, trailed by Hana Hooch walked out onto the field.  
  
Severus was wearing a rather nicely tailored dark green robe atop his normal solid black outfit. Remus soon took notice that at his side was not a foil, but a saber.  
  
"A saber, Severus?" He sighed as the Potions master and the flight instructor walked over.  
  
"Yes. My hands often moved to fast for me, when I was younger, and I couldn't hold a foil. Now of course," He quickly lifted his saber, and took a defensive stance. "I never drop my saber." Remus narrowed his eyes, and looked at Hana.  
  
"And you are here because?"  
  
"Because you need a ref." She flashed him a vicious grin, and motioned for the three students to back up off the Pitch. Remus looked at his watch, 7:28. He sighed and took off his robe, tossing it to his side as Severus backed up a few feet and did the same.  
  
"Ok, we'll start off with three matches." Hana snickered from the corner, refraining from licking her lips as Severus rolled up his long black sleeves, and Remus loosened his collar. Remus looked over at Severus, and the other man narrowed his eyes.  
  
"On my whistle then..." Hana sighed, and brought the bronze object to her lips. Remus and Severus quickly snapped into a ready position. Their leading feet in front, facing their partner directly, and their back foot sideways, the heel of their front against the arch of their back. Their free hand was back at their side as they angled out to face one another, lifting their weapons. Hana looked from one to the other as Hermione pulled a long and heavy cloak from her side pack, and the trio of students covered themselves with it.  
  
A loud whistle rang out, and Remus' left hand shot into the air, as did Severus's.  
  
The duel had begun.  
  
~~~~~~~~ 


	4. The First Duels

Severus quickly lunged to Remus' right, and the man countered to the left. Severus pulled back into his stance as Remus flicked out his wrist in a quick attempt to hit Severus' back, but the Potions Master snapped out his saber, and met Remus' foil half way.  
  
'Bloody hell, a third position block, he has trained.' Remus thought to himself, then quickly moved to lift his left arm down as he raised his right to a nearly vertical position to cross his foil with Severus' saber, and block.  
  
Severus took a quick half step forward, resting on the ball of his lead foot, and snapped his wrist out to tap the side of Remus' foil. He growled and closed the space between them, lifting his left hand above his head as Remus countered by swinging his foil under Severus' saber and tapping the opposite side.  
  
Remus sneered, and began a harsh set of taps, swinging his foil under the saber to tap on one side, then the other. A light breeze picked in, but it wasn't helpful a the moment, it sent Remus' hair into his face, causing the man to side-step to keep his partner in view.  
  
Severus growled, taps always annoyed the hell out of him. He began to turn his saber counter clockwise, tapping Remus' foil between Remus' taps. He side-stepped as well, keeping Remus always in front of him. His hand twitched as Remus lunged suddenly. He side-stepped again, and turned his hand inward, only to be met by a high point on Remus' foil. He'd been close.  
  
Remus clicked his teeth as he slid his foil up Severus' saber and stepped back. The Potions master had been close, too close. He quickly half stepped towards Severus, aiming for his face.  
  
Severus back stepped and brought his saber up. He groaned as Remus continued to press forward, and they began to tap in a serious of basic moves. Up right; third position, down left; second position, and straight; first position. He stopped and started to back towards Remus when the blasted Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor began his stand-still taps again.  
  
Remus drove his foil forward after three taps to the inside left. He hissed through his teeth as Severus tried a counter, and brought them inches from each other. Remus heard Hana's whistle and the duo turned to face her.  
  
"Two point to Remus." She said and kicked Ron in the shin. "Match one."  
  
"Ow! What was that for?" He grumbled, leaning forward to rub his leg. Hana gave him one of her evil grins.  
  
"You said you wanted to do something, keep score." Ron mumbled to himself.  
  
Severus turned from Remus, and took a few steps towards Hana.  
  
"Two point? For what?" He crossed his arms over his chest, his saber nearly touching the ground as another breeze picked in.  
  
"Shoulder, he brushed your left shoulder. His foil bent. It counts." Hana pressed as Severus stared at her hard. "Anyway, that was match one. Continue please.." She grinned, enjoying her state of power and motioned back to the center of the Pitch.  
  
Remus looked over at Severus and they quickly made their way back to the center of the Pitch, quickly lifting their swords with proudly set faces, and stood ready.  
  
Hana's whistle blew again.  
  
Match two.  
  
This time Severus was in the lead. He quickly drove forward, meeting Remus at fourth position; up and to the left, across the face. He tapped the inside of Remus' foil quickly, then met him at fifth position; down right.  
  
Remus quickly stepped in and brought up his saber, meeting at first position. Remus leaned into his foil, bringing his noise inches from Severus. He felt a light sweat start to break out on his skin, and this time welcomed the cool autumn breeze. He felt Severus' saber tense as the Potions master turned his saber quickly and managed to back Remus two steps before turning his saber the other direction and jabbing Remus in the side.  
  
"Two point, Severus!" Hana cried after she blew her whistle again. "Match two."  
  
Remus glared at Severus as they started back towards the center of the Pitch, and rubbed his side. Without the proper fencing armor, the taps are supposed to be light, apparently that's one thing Severus didn't learn.  
  
"We're tied, Professor Lupin." Sneered Severus as they took up the stance again, and awaited Hana's whistle.  
  
"Not for long," Remus said, too pumped to feel cliché.  
  
The whistle.  
  
The final match.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~ 


	5. The Final Duel

Severus lunged for Remus, starting off again, and met him at a first position. He quickly snapped his wrist, and met him at third. Another flick, first, another, second. First, third, fifth, fifth, fourth, third, second, first, first.  
  
Remus stumbled backwards, using his left hand for balance as he met and blocked Severus' quick paced attacks. He stood still and met him at first, then quickly slipped into a sixth; to the right center.  
  
Severus' eyes grew wide and he barely had time to met Remus' foil before they were again off, side-stepping down the field. First, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, sixth, first, third, second. Severus quickly snapped from his first into a lunge, but Remus dodged and aimed a jab into a first.  
  
Remus let out a grunt as he and Severus held swords together, inches from each other again. His arms began to ache, and he felt a light sweat trickling down his neck, but he paid it no attention as he huffed a hot breath into Severus' face, the Potions master doing the same.  
  
"It really doesn't matter who wins," Severus hissed as the duo remained inches from each other. "I'll get to teach anyw-ah!" Severus yelped slightly as Remus quickly pulled out of the stand-still and started into a serious of sixth position taps. Severus groaned and started to circle Remus, swinging his saber under, then over, meeting the other Professors taps with his own.  
  
"What do you mean.. you-you'll st-ill ghet... get to teach it..?" Remus huffed, continuing his taps.  
  
"You m-mhust be joking, Lupin.." Severus grunted, and dodged Remus' lunge, meeting an attempted third position jab with his saber. "You-you couldn't p- possibly have.. have forgotten your little... pr-problem?"  
  
"Of co-course not.." Remus gasped, third position, fourth, first, second, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, fifth-second! "But wha- what does that have to do-do wit-th fen-fencing? Uhhg!" Remus stepped back as Severus started sidestepping to him. Third, second, fifth, second, first, seventh.  
  
"They'll nee-eed someone to tea-teach during your-r ab-abse-sences.." Severus panted, then lunged. Remus dodged barely, Severus' lip curled in a sneer as Remus nearly caught him off guard. He shoved the foil away from his face.  
  
"Beast.." He hissed.  
  
"YAH!" Remus lunged. First! Third! Fifth! Second! Seventh! Fifth! Ninth! First! Sixth! Fourth! Second! Second! Second! Fifth!  
  
"Aaah!" Remus stumbled backwards, feeling a quick and cold hit to his cheek. He looked up at Severus as he touched his finger to the now bleeding slice on his cheek. He lunged at the panting Severus.  
  
"AHH!"  
  
Hana blew her whistle, and started forward, but neither heard or paid attention.  
  
Second! Fifth! Third! First! First! Ninth! First! Second! Tenth! Eighth! Seventh! Seventh! First! Third!  
  
"Aaaaaaahh!" Severus shouted as he dropped his saber and stumbled backwards, holding his wrist. Remus lunged, tossing his foil aside and lifting Severus off the ground by his collar. Severus gasped.  
  
Remus held Severus in the air easily with his right hand, his left at his side. He glared at the Potions Master as Severus reached up and wrapped his hands around his wrist. Severus began to squeeze.  
  
"Aaaaaahhh!" Remus shouted in frustration, and tossed Severus aside. He kicked his foil into his hand and turned, pointing it to Severus' throat.  
  
"Beast..." Severus growled, and Remus touched the tip of his foil to the man's skin.  
  
"I'm not a beast. Let it go, Severus.."  
  
"Murderer." Severus growled, his free hand groping for his saber. Remus narrowed his eyes.  
  
"At least everyone knows what I am!" Remus hissed. "At least I don't betray people behind their backs, then hide like a coward and push myself away!" Severus shoved away Remus' foil and jabbed his saber into Remus' side.  
  
"Severus! Remus!" Hana growled, now up to the two men.  
  
Remus looked up, rubbing his side where Severus' saber had given him the equivalent of a long paper cut. He aimed his foil at Severus as the other man attempted to stand, both breathing heavily and covered in sweat.  
  
"This isn't finished, not even close." He growled, then turned, and stormed off the Pitch into the darkness.  
  
Severus heaved himself to his feet, shouted and tossed his saber, turning and exiting the Pitch in the opposite direction.  
  
Hermione, Harry and Ron walked up to Madame Hooch, and they all turned to look at Severus' saber, which had lodged itself in the ground a few feet away, sticking straight up and swaying in the harsh autumn wind.  
  
~~~~~~~~ 


	6. The Aftermath

Remus shoved open the door of his small cabin, and stormed in side. He threw his foil into the far wall, and his robe onto the armchair, and over the sleeping Sirius Black.  
  
"Mmhm? What?" Sirius mumbled as he sat up. "Moony!" He said and put the robes on the back of the armchair. "Remus?" He asked as his companion turned and kept going down the hall. He skidded onto the wooden floor, watching as Remus' shaking hand pulled open his door.  
  
"Hey, how did the match go?" Remus entered his room, and Sirius' jaw dropped. "You forgot to snub me!" He shouted, confused and angry.  
  
"Consider yourself snubbed!" Remus howled as he slammed the door. He turned and pulled a small orb from his dresser by the door and threw it into the wall.  
  
"If you break something it's your fault!" He heard Sirius' muffled yell from the other room and slammed his fists into the wall. He sighed, attempting to calm down. It was a very rare thing to see Remus J. Lupin lose his temper, but as he turned to the window, he knew why he had.  
  
Two days. He had two days until the full moon.  
  
He sighed and unbuttoned his shirt, tossing it aside as he looked in his full length mirror at the bruise on his left side, and the cut on his right. He sighed and looked away, then back, and drew his gaze up his chest, looking over the all too familiar scars that he'd accumulated over the years.  
  
He sighed and put his hands on the top of his mirror, touching his forehead to the cool glass, Severus' words ringing in his ears.  
  
'Beast! Murderer!' Remus titled his head to one side and slid to his knees by the mirror. He gasped in a sharp breath, then turned, putting his back against the mirror and drawing his knees up to his chest.  
  
*******  
  
Severus threw open his door and over turned a chair. He would have thrown his saber into his bed, but he'd left it on the pitch.  
  
He growled and stalked into the bathroom, a cloud of anger and resentment following his every move. He walked stiffly onto the cold floor, and kicked off his boots. He flicked on the light and made his way to the mirror. He leaned over the sink and looked in.  
  
Remus' foil had left a nice bruise on his neck. He sighed, noting his ebony black hair sticking to his face with sweat. He turned on the cold water, and after holding his hand under it for a few minutes, took it through his hair. He looked back up to the mirror.  
  
It hadn't helped.  
  
He sighed and turned away from the mirror, closing the door out of habit, knowing full well no one would barge in on him. He turned back towards the center of the room and unbuttoned his shirt, tossing it over his boots. He shook his head and as he started to unbutton his pants, caught sight of his left arm, Remus' quip jarring his thoughts.  
  
'At least everyone knows what I am! At least I don't betray people behind their backs, then hide like a coward and push myself away!'  
  
Severus shouted and slammed his fist into the wall. He sighed, and started to shake. He sat down on the toilet and finished undressing with shaky pale hands. He moved and turned on the water, running a hot shower. He slowly stepped into the cool marble and almost immediately pressed his forehead and the palms of his hands to the wall, letting the water run down his back.  
  
He clenched his jaw shut and screwed his eyes closed, trying to concentrate on nothing but the water.  
  
~~~~~~~~~ 


End file.
